Lord, Let Me Be an Instrument: The Artistry and Cultural Politics of Reverend James Cleveland and the Gospel Music Workshop of America, 1963-1991
This article examines the artistic legacy of Reverend James Cleveland, an internationally renowned musician whose sonic innovations and institution-building efforts played a critical role in gospel music's rise as a global cultural phenomenon. In addition to examining how Cleveland's music...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
The Pennsylvania State University Press
[2017]
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| In: |
Journal of Africana religions
Year: 2017, Volume: 5, Issue: 2, Pages: 157-180 |
| Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains: | B
Cleveland, James 1931-1991
/ Gospel Music Workshop of America
/ Gospel song
/ Black power
/ History 1963-1991
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| IxTheo Classification: | CB Christian life; spirituality CH Christianity and Society FD Contextual theology HC New Testament KAJ Church history 1914-; recent history KBQ North America RD Hymnology |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (Verlag) Volltext (doi) |
| Summary: | This article examines the artistic legacy of Reverend James Cleveland, an internationally renowned musician whose sonic innovations and institution-building efforts played a critical role in gospel music's rise as a global cultural phenomenon. In addition to examining how Cleveland's music provided a sonic blueprint for multiple generations of gospel artists in the United States and the larger African diaspora, this article also explores his involvement in the Gospel Music Workshop of America. Created in 1968, the GMWA offered an institutional space in which Black religious artists could hone their craft and exercise greater control over their art. By exploring Cleveland's multivalent roles as an artist and international promoter of gospel music, this article underscores how Black Christians' struggle for self-determination extended into the world of gospel music. It also argues for Cleveland's historical importance as a contributor to and benefactor of the cultural politics of the Black Power movement. |
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| ISSN: | 2165-5413 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Journal of Africana religions
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.5325/jafrireli.5.2.0157 |